Jeff Fulton out as Fossil Ridge football coach after four seasons
After four seasons, Jeff Fulton is out as the Fossil Ridge High School football head coach, school officials confirmed this week.
Fossil Ridge athletic director Dave Walck cited a desire for a football coach that is "in the building," meaning one who also works as a teacher for the school.
Fulton has not taught at Fossil Ridge during his coaching tenure but teaches at Northridge High School in Greeley.
"We believe that having a coach who also works at the school best serves our students, football players and football team," Walck told the Coloradoan. "We wish Jeff the best moving forward and thank him for all he did for the program."
The SaberCats are fresh off their best season to date, going 9-3 with the program's first-ever Class 5A playoff win before falling at No. 7 Regis Jesuit in the second round.
Walck said the search for a new coach is already underway, and a job posting for the position went up Monday on Poudre School District's website.
Fulton declined to comment at this time.
PSD coaching positions are part-time jobs compensated by an annual stipend. Head football coaches are paid between $4,429 and $6,379 per season, depending on their years of experience.
There is no official Fossil Ridge or PSD policy requiring a sports coach to also be a teacher at the school.
However, football can be unique in the high school sports ecosystem, from its notoriety to its demands.
The sheer number of football players (typically 100-plus) across a program's varsity and sub-varsity levels often means a greater level of involvement is needed than in other sports.
That is typically easier if a coach also teaches at the school.
Football recruiting is also different, as there are few club, AAU or third-party teams to showcase an athlete outside of the football season. College recruiters regularly visit schools during the school day to meet with both prospective players and their coaches, making high school football coaches de-facto recruiting facilitators.
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Fossil Ridge has now had six different head football coaches since opening in 2004. None of their tenures have been longer than four seasons.
Fulton was Fossil Ridge's most successful coach since the school moved to the 5A level in 2010, compiling a 19-20 record that included two of Fossil's three Class 5A playoff appearances and its lone league title.
Only Clint Fick (21-21) won more games for Fossil Ridge, with that record coming from 2006-09 when the program still competed at the 3A and 4A levels.
Before taking over at Fossil Ridge in 2019, Fulton was Northridge's head coach for 19 seasons and led the school to six playoff appearances.
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This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado high school football: Jeff Fulton out as Fossil Ridge coach
